Fauci on track to collect largest federal retirement in US history: report

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Dr. Anthony Fauci said recently that he does not plan on retiring soon but if were to step down as the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, the 81-year-old would reportedly be eligible for the largest federal retirement package in American history.

According to Forbes auditors at OpenTheBooks.com, Fauci’s 55 years of service in the federal government qualifies him for an annual retirement package of more than $350,000 which would increase through annual cost-of-living adjustments.

FILE - Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, speaks during the daily briefing at the White House in Washington, Wednesday, Dec. 1, 2021. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh, File)  (AP)

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Fauci is currently the highest-paid employee in the federal government, bringing in $434,321 in 2020 which is more than the president, the highest-ranking commanders in the military, and the roughly 4.3 million employees in the federal government.

"There's no way I’m going to walk away from this until we get this under control," Fauci told ABC’s Johnathan Karl earlier this month when asked about possibly stepping away from the job. "I mean, that's the purpose of what we do. That's -- that's our mission in life. In the middle of it, I’m not going to walk away."

Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, takes his seat for a Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee hearing on Capitol Hill, Thursday, Nov. 4, 2021, in Washington. ((AP Photo/Alex Brandon))

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Fauci’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Fox News.

Fauci has become one of the most controversial political figures in the country after advocating for strict lockdown measures during the coronavirus pandemic which has drawn the ire of conservatives who have accused him of inconsistent positions. Republican politicians, most notably Sen. Rand Paul, who is a medical doctor, have also criticized Fauci for his agency's connection to taxpayer funds that supported gain-of-function research on bats infected with coronaviruses at a lab in Wuhan, China.

Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, responds to questions by Senator Rand Paul during the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC on July 20, 2021.  ((Photo by J. SCOTT APPLEWHITE/POOL/AFP via Getty Images))

"Dr. Anthony Fauci has a good bedside manner with the public, but he has been wrong about everything I have interacted with him on," former Trump trade adviser Dr. Peter Navarro said last year about his time in government with Fauci.